A Guide to the Stanford E. Chaillé Collection, 1860-1903 Chaillé, Stanford E., Collection Ms2008-031

A Guide to the Stanford E. Chaillé Collection, 1860-1903

A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number Ms2008-031

Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Processed by: Emily Cook, Special Collections Staff

Repository

Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Collection Number

Ms2008-031

Title

Stanford E. Chaillé Collection, 1860-1903

Physical Characteristics

1 box; 0.2 cu. ft.

Collector

Dr. Stanford E. Chaillé

Language

English

Abstract

Letters, government issued documents, printed material, and two photo albums of Dr. Stanford E. Chaillé, Confederate surgeon and dean of Tulane University's medical school. Significant topics include the Union occupation of New Orleans, postwar elections, Dr. Chaillé's medical career, and Chaillé genealogy. Materials cover the period shortly before the Civil War to the early twentieth century, and deal mostly with New Orleans.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Stanford E. Chaillé Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Stanford E. Chaillé Collection, Ms2008-031 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Stanford E. Chaillé Collection was purchased by Special Collections in 2004.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the Stanford E. Chaillé took place in June, 2008.

Biographical Information

Stanford E. Chaillé was born on July 9, 1830, in Natchez, Mississippi, the descendant of several patriots of the Revolutionary War. Educated by private tutors until his mother's death, Chaillé eventually graduated from Phillips' Academy in South Andover, Massachusetts, in 1847. Chaillé then received an A. B. (bachelor's degree) in 1851 from Harvard College and later earned his medical degree from the Medical Department of the University of Louisiana (now Tulane) in 1853. Chaillé later returned to Harvard College and received an A. M. (master's degree) in 1854. On February 23, 1857, Dr. Chaillé married Laura E. Montfort. The union produced one child, Mary Laura Chaillé. Laura E. Montfort died on August 18, 1858. Before the Civil War, Dr. Chaillé worked as a resident student in the New Orleans Charity Hospital and then served as a resident physician at the United States Marine Hospital and at the Circus Street Infirmary.

During the war, Dr. Chaillé rose from being a private in the New Orleans Light Horse Brigade to acting Confederate Surgeon General of Louisiana in 1862. In May, 1862, Dr. Chaillé became the surgeon and medical inspector of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. In July of 1863, Dr. Chaillé took the post of surgeon-in-charge of the Fairground Hospital #2 in Atlanta, Georgia, then transferred to Okmulgee Hospital in Macon, Georgia in December, 1863. While in Georgia, Dr. Chaillé met, and later married, Mary Louisa Napier.

After the Civil War, Dr. Chaillé lectured and demonstrated anatomy and obstetrics in New Orleans. In 1878, Congress selected Dr. Chaillé to study the great yellow fever epidemic, and he later sat on the Havana Yellow Fever Commission. Dr. Chaillé also contributed significantly to medical literature. Among these contributions was his formulation of infant developmental standards in 1887. From 1885 until his retirement in 1908, Dr. Chaillé served as the dean of Tulane's medical school. Dr. Stanford E. Chaillé died in 1911.

Scope and Content

The Stanford E. Chaillé Collection consists of letters, government-issued documents, printed material, and two photo albums containing thirty-six photos. Those pictured in photos include: Dr. Chaillé, Laura Chaillé, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Layton M. D. P., and other friends. Materials date from shortly before the American Civil War to the decades following southern Reconstruction. Salient topics are the occupation of New Orleans by the Union during the Civil War, postwar government elections, the great yellow fever epidemic, and Dr. Chaillé's long career and accolades. Several documents relate to Dr. Chaillé's position as dean of the Tulane Medical School, such as a notable graduation speech welcoming Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. Dr. Chaillé's interest in genealogical research also appears in letters and documents. In one genealogical sketch, Dr. Chaillé traces his family tree to France where it was "very Catholic" before 1540.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type. Letters appear chronologically.

Index Terms

Subjects:

Civil War
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Contents List

Box-folder 1:1

Stanford E. Chaillé's biographical/genealogical information, 1863-1899

Confederate marriage license for Stanford E. Chaillé and Mary L. Napier, 1863
"Biographical Sketch of Dr. Chaillé," 1894
Manuscript resume, 1899
Manuscript of Chaillé lineage, 1899

Box-folder 1:2

Correspondence 1862-1903

Letter from Mr. Legaré, Farmington, April 30, 1862

Discusses Mr. Legaré's travels through Union held New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Letter from "A.L.N.," New Orleans, LA, May 14, 1862

Advises Dr. Chaillé to return to New Orleans.
Letter from Henry Hacksford, New Orleans, LA, May 17, 1862

Advises Dr. Chaillé to return to the city.
Letter from Mary Owen Preston, Lexington, October 5, 1862

Discusses the confederate evacuation of Lexington and includes a picture of Mrs. William Preston and Caroline Preston.
Letter from Marvin T. Myers, Richmond, October 12, 1862

Discusses fight at Leesburg with Lee.
Letter from Stanford E. Chaillé to a Mr. Barker, New Orleans, LA, March 22, 1883

Requests a copy of the Medical News and apologizes for previous abruptness.
Letter from Mr. Legaré, Mobile, April 20, 1864

Discusses a Confederate coward.
Letter from Henry R. Rand, Macon, GA, February 4, 1865

Mr. Rand admits to defrauding Dr. Chaillé of $744 but pleads for leniency
Letter from General Randall L. Gibson, Washington, D.C., December 25, 1876

Asks Dr. Chaillé to analyze the Republican officers and returns board from a recent election. This letter apparently refers to Republican attempts to shut out former Confederate Democrats from power in Louisiana (postmarked envelope included).
Letter from W.R. Morrison, St Charles Hotel, New Orleans, LA, July 8, 1877

Informs Dr. Chaillé of when his testimony is required (for an apparent congressional hearing).
Letter from the Honorable Alexander Randall, Annapolis, MD, October 31, 1877

Informs Dr. Chaillé of the results of Alexander Randall's investigation of any person named "Peter Chaillé" in the eastern shores of Maryland.
Letter from Stanford E. Chaillé to Colonel Charles Chaillé Long, Asheville, NC, October 15, 1889

Discusses Chaillé family lineage. Includes many specific questions about the Chaillé family.
Letter from Stanford E. Chaillé to Professor Albert B Miles, M.D., New Orleans, LA, 1894

Letter of recommendation for Dr. Warren Stowe.
Letter from Alcée Fortier, New Orleans, LA, November 1, 1899

Describes the origins of the name "Chaillé." According to Alcée Fortier, Chaillé derives from the French word for flint.
Letter from J. W. Nicholson, Baton Rouge, LA, June 11, 1903

Thanks Dr. Chaillé for two addresses.

Box-folder 1:3

Speech, 1889

In this speech, Chaillé states that there is "no heart nobler and no hands braver than those of Jefferson Davis."

Box-folder 1:4

Miscellaneous printed material (broadside, newspaper clipping), 1885, n.d.

Box-folder 1:5

Photo album 1, 1860-1880

Box-folder 1:6

Photo album 2, 1866-1882